In China, It’s Already Cheaper to Buy EVs Than Gasoline Cars::undefined

  • TenderfootGungi@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    They are far simpler with fewer parts. It is only a matter of scaling up manufacturing. The biggest cost is the battery.

    BYD is closing in on Tesla as the largest EV manufacturer and most Americans have no idea they exist.

    • Tandybaum@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I visited the BYD factory years ago. I have no idea how big it is compared to others but it absolutely blew my mind. I was up on like 5th floor and when they sounded the lunch bell it looked like ants out the window. I think they said it was about 600k employees in that building.

        • Tandybaum@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          It being huge is an understatement. They have dorms where people live on-site and it’s they are massive. Multiple soccer complexes and tons of restaurants all on campus.

        • Aux@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I don’t know how many workers BYD have, but Foxconn flagship factory is Longhua Science & Technology Park and it is a small city with hundreds of thousands people working there. Check the Google Maps satellite view, it’s crazy.

    • 1bluepixel@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I was in China two months ago and the use of electric cars is honestly changing the feeling of big cities. Delivery motorcycles and service vehicles are all electric now, and with the number of electric cars on the road, streets are a lot quieter now barring the frequent honking. Less air pollution too.

      What I love about Chinese electric car manufacturers is that they’ve fully embraced the cyberpunk aesthetic from the chassis design to the car sounds. Made me feel like I was walking around a cyberpunk movie set.

      • Yonrak@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        I just got back from a business trip to China also. The high proportion of EVs, particularly in the southern cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen really stood out to me, and many of them (particularly from BYD) looked really, really nice. They seemed less prominent in the more northern part of the country (e.g. Shenyang, Beijing), but even there I’d say they’re more common than in the UK.

        It was a real eye opener

        • 1bluepixel@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          That was my experience as well. Very prevalent in Sichuan, but less so in Shanghai. Still, even in Shanghai, they were leagues ahead of Canada.

          • Blastasaurus@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            I mean, there’s only 35 million people in Canada, a country with a larger land mass than China. The charging infrastructure in Canada is pitiful.

      • FMT99@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Would be interesting to see. The Chinese EVs being pushed on the market here (Europe) are the typical ugly huge American SUV style.

        • 1bluepixel@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I found this article from last year showing some interesting models. You’ll see the most popular EVs range from more classical designs to weird and retro-futuristic.

          Some of them also make futuristic noises when they drive around… The noise isn’t needed at all because the motor is pretty much silent, so they’re added by manufacturers so you hear them coming. I swear they sound like something out of a '90s sci-fi flick.

      • Bloops@lemmygrad.ml
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        1 year ago

        It’s not an SOE and like half of its stocks are owned by Americans. But the parent company got some government funding according to the US Congress, so the whole conglomerate is considered an SOE by America now. Sounds like trade war stuff to me lol

  • thedarkfly@feddit.nl
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    1 year ago

    Are the US and EU late, or is it a deliberate business decision from EV car manufacturers to aim for bigger and luxury cars because they make more profit?

      • arc@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        And over 90% if you count PHEVs too. Norway demonstrates electric vehicles are completely viable.

    • Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      We’re late. Our competition sucks (almost certainly on purpose). BYD is taking the slow approach to the US market - early next decade? Reuters: BYD Global EV Push

      The US car manufacturers are going to take a protectionist approach to a shrinking market. They’ve already won this decade - everybone has a massive truck/SUV, no transit, all cars including EVs are an unaffordable luxury to Americans now after “inflation.”

      • arc@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        The US has protectionist rules about EV grants - car must be assembled in the US to receive tax credits. It’s why Teslas sold in the US are assembled in the US whereas Teslas sold in Canada are made in China. There are some comments that the Chinese manufactured cars are actually better quality. It probably also explains why Chinese brands like BYD are focussing more on other markets like Europe.

  • gornar@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Meanwhile where I am in Canada, with massive amounts hydroelectric power: “bUt tHe gRiD!”